The Great Idgah

The Great Idgah Dhaka

On the Satmasjid Road between the 13th and 14th street lie the remains of an Idgah of plastered brick-work. From the road we see its back on our right [walking northward from the Pilkhana Gate]. The inscription over the central mihrab informs us that it was built by Mir Abul Qasim, the Diwan of Prince Shah Shuja, in 1050A.H. (A. D. 1640). The Idgah is usually a single-walled mosque, and does not call for any great architectural beauty, but the importance of the present structure lies in the fact that it is the earliest dated monument of the Mughal period in Dhaka that betrays the influence of the imperial Mughal style.

It consists of an open platform raised 4 above the level of the surrounding country, and measuring 245’ by 137’, round which on the north, east and south sides, are the remains of a parapet, said formerly to have been 6’ high. The screen wall on the western side, about 15’ high contains, in the middle, a semi-octagonal mihrab with a four-centred stilted arch, decorated with multiple cusping applied to the outer face, and flanked on either side by multi-cusped arched panels within frames. Further beyond, on each side of the central mihrab, three subsidiary mihrabs consisting of simple wall arches, survive. The walls are then broken. Over the mihrab is a band of horizontal cornice, topped with battlemented cresting.

The Idgah has now been cleaned, and is regularly used for the annual prayers.